Battle Of Wills
by Ani-maniac494
Summary: If there was an award for the worst patient ever, Colonel Sheppard would win it hands down. One-shot. Keller POV.


Title: Battle Of Wills

Summary: If there was an award for the worst patient ever, Colonel Sheppard would win it hands down. One-shot. Keller POV.

Spoilers: A small nod to the events in "Search And Rescue."

Disclaimer: I don't own Keller or the team, but nobody would mind if I kept Sheppard, right? ;)

A/N: This was written for the holiday hurt/comfort comment fic exchange on the sgahcchallenges LJ community. If you have a chance, and you're looking for some good hurt/comfort fics, I really recommend checking out the other stories there. :)

As always, I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His mercy never ceases to amaze me.

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**Battle Of Wills**

Doctors make the worst patients. Jennifer Keller had always believed that was true -- she'd had to treat a few other doctors in her career and they'd all been awful patients. But that was before she'd met John Sheppard. He had to win the award for the worst patient _ever_.

He wasn't rude…just the opposite, usually. Easy-going -- on the outside at least -- charming, and friendly. But that was part of what made him so hard to deal with. The second she tried to tell him he'd have to stay in the infirmary, he'd start trying to bargain with her:

"_Just give me some aspirin and I'm good."_

"_Look, doc, you're busy already. How 'bout I just check in every couple of hours instead?"_

"_I'll stay in my office and do paperwork." _

He only used that last one when he was really desperate. She'd gotten better at finding a compromise that worked for both of them, though:

"_Sorry, Colonel, but I want you here for the next 24 to 48 hours. But, I know you have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, so I'll have someone bring your laptop." _

(The disgusted look she'd gotten in response had just made her smile innocently.)

Of course, if trying to sweet-talk his way out of the infirmary was all she had to worry about, then Colonel Sheppard wouldn't have been up for the "worst patient ever" award.

"_A high pain threshold…" _appeared on his chart repeatedly.

Normally, that was an advantage for both the doctor and the patient. No doctor liked it when they had to hurt to heal, and it also usually meant less complaining…unlike a certain patient who had a penchant for being overdramatic.

Colonel Sheppard, though, just tried to use it as another reason why he should be released early, or why he should be allowed back on active duty. She couldn't really say that he was reckless -- he knew his limits, and he knew them well -- and she knew he'd never go on a mission unless he absolutely believed he could do his job. But, she also knew that for him, everyone else came first, and he was a very, very distant second. If he had to walk around with internal bleeding to rescue a teammate, so what?

But as a doctor, _her_ first priority was the safety and health of her patient -- even when that patient was a smooth-talking, incredibly stubborn, Air Force Colonel with a high tolerance for pain.

And he was her patient today. Probably would be for a couple weeks, too, if the spreading red stain on his jacket was any indication. Keller grimaced as she carefully pulled back the fabric, seeing the deep, angry, stab wound in his shoulder.

He flinched almost imperceptibly as she probed it with her fingers.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay," he answered, not looking at her, but watching the other medical personal who were treating the rest of his team. Rodney had a graze on his arm, Teyla had a badly sprained wrist, and Ronon had a laceration on his leg, but Colonel Sheppard was the most seriously injured.

"What kind of knife did this?" she wondered.

The Colonel sighed.

"One with a long, curved blade."

"Ouch." Jennifer winced in sympathy, and gently packed more gauze around the wound, hoping to slow the bleeding as much as possible until she had a chance to treat it properly back on Atlantis. "You know, it might have been better if you'd left the blade in."

Sheppard's jaw tightened.

"I had to return it to the owner."

Keller frowned.

"You had to-" she stopped suddenly, realizing what he meant. She swallowed hard. "Oh."

It was sometimes easy to forget that under all that charm was a dangerous soldier -- Jennifer wondered if Colonel Sheppard preferred it that way. An awkward silence descended, and Keller looked down, biting her lip and checking the makeshift bandage. She was saved from trying to figure out what to say next when the Colonel suddenly started listing to the side.

"Colonel!" she called, catching his good arm with her hand, stopping him from falling over completely.

He blinked at her a few times, then shook his head and straightened.

"Sorry." He smirked faintly. "Guess I lost a little more blood than I thought when I pulled that knife out."

Jennifer bit back a sigh. "You didn't think to mention that to me before now?"

"Wanted to make sure my team was okay first," he said, shrugging, like that explained everything.

And maybe it did.

"They are okay, right?" Sheppard pressed.

Jennifer nodded.

"They'll be fine." She arched an eyebrow at him. "They aren't the ones who'll be needing a blood transfusion when we get back to Atlantis."

Sheppard snorted softly, but didn't try to argue.

As few minutes later, Jennifer had finished packing the wound. Sheppard had managed not to fall over again, but his movements were getting a little sluggish. He wasn't in danger now that she'd slowed the bleeding, but she still wanted to get him back to Atlantis as soon as possible.

She called over a couple of the medics to bring a stretcher, trying not to give the Colonel a chance to object and insist that he could walk. He still complained when she ordered him onto it, but a pointed glare from her stopped the protest before it really started.

She watched as the medics lifted the stretcher, and then pushed herself up from the ground. She winced -- the pins and needles sensation in her leg letting her know that she'd been crouching a little too long.

Sheppard caught her look.

"You alright, doc?"

_Asks the man with a stab wound, _Jennifer thought. But she nodded anyway, not surprised that he was still worrying about everyone else before he worried about himself.

A small, exasperated smile played on her lips. Maybe he _was_ the worst patient she'd ever had. But, he was also one of the best men she'd ever met. Jennifer figured that evened things out in the end.

**Fin**

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A/N: I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas, and that you'll have a very blessed New Year! :)

Please let me know what you think!

Take care and God bless!

Ani-maniac494


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